Researchers of Isfahan Islamic Azad University have designed and made an interactive robot which is able to interact with language learners by carrying out conversations and asking and answering questions.

According to an ISCA report, the first “teaching machine” was invented nearly a century ago by Sydney Pressey, a psychologist at Ohio University, out of spare typewriter parts. The device was simple, presenting the user with a multiple-choice question and a set of answers.

This research has been carried out by Mina Raeisi, Maryam Raeisi and Hadi Salehi in Isfahan IAU which aims at interacting with language learners by asking and answering questions.

She explained that as a teacher assistant, the robot was not aimed at replacing school teachers and can evaluate students based on their positive scores. She continued that due to the points gained by learners, they can play educational computer games as a reward.

This researcher noted that the robot can search the required information online and provide the answer if it does not know some of them. It also can move and is equipped with sensors to detect obstacles on the way.

The team believe the robots bring a new dimension to classroom learning; benefiting students with a physical presence beyond other screen-based media, such as cartoons or animated games.